Ask a Southern American..

[angus]

Statesrights, before this gets deleted I have a serious Ask a Southerner question.  What's a good spot of beach between Mobile and Clearwater?  Wide sandy shore, inexpensive hotels which don't need reservations, fish restaurants, and few, if any, teenagers is what I have in mind.  someplace to hang in quiet and lounge with the family for a few days.  any suggestions?

[angus]

I've lived in the Deep South for several months and have presumably met a few Southerners, black or white usually, and as far as I can tell the seem no more or less given to violence, ugliness, or racism than those locals in other places I've lived.  I suppose I've mentioned this before to you opebo, but it seems to do no good.  Might as well tell you that whites don't really deserve to be dragged behind cadillacs, or Germans don't deserved to be accosted on the streets of South America, or that Christians don't really deserve to be fed to lions.  At some point you must recognize that when, of all people, you suggest that someone wants to run and hide from violent and racist suggestions it reeks of hypocrisy.

[angus]

I think it's time to delete this thread now

agreed.  I still haven't an answer to what I thought was a serious Ask A Southerner question.  Guess I'll just drive along US90 till I find a nice quiet spot. 

(Bell:  assume I'm flying into Miami from Mexico City, and renting a car in Miami and driving north.  Thus it becomes an international discussion question.)

[angus]

Yeah, I didn't get an answer to my international genuine Southern part of the Americas question, ie:

Why are Peruanos called Peruvians in English?

Se llaman in ingles "peruvians" para la misma razón que ustedes llamanos "Amerikaner"  Verdad?  O, para la misma razon que se llaman ustedes "aleman" 

klar?

[angus]

How long until the South rises again? Southerners seem adamant about the South rising again but it hasn't seem to risen yet.

I don't think that's going to happen again. And frankly I wouldn't want it to. I enjoy being an American.

I always knew you were not an anti-USA rebel.  I actually find that most of the confederate flag-waving crowd are actually pretty patriotic Americans and are not looking to destroy the Union.  Hell, many of 'em are republicans.  I suspect the Dixie insignia has more to do with heritage and regional pride than with some notion about gaining independence from an oppressive federal government.  Anyway, thanks for the response.  I'm looking at a map of Florida just now.  I like the vacations like I like my women:  Hot and wet.  I think the South, in particular Florida, has some nice beaches and dive sites.  It's something I want to explore while I'm in Columbus.  I've been reading about some excellent dive sites in Waccasassa Bay.  Army Tanks, shipwrecks, and big mammals.  Maybe I'll take the old lady and the kid out there to beachcomb while I do some diving in before we head out to New York City. 

For good maps go to Perry-Castañeda map collection online.

[angus]

No, I'm saying that whatever the reason is (and I agree there must be one) it's the same as calling--okay, only writing that--an american is an Amerikaner.  Look, we don't call you Deutsch, and neither do the French or Spanish.  We use a Roman word:  german.  and the French/Spanish use a form of Alleman.  Though I do think the Japs call you Doitsu, owing to the long-term economic relationship between your countries.  Just like we don't use a Japanese word to Japan, do we?  They call their own country Nihon, or Dai Nihon.  The chinese call in Jin Pon (rising sun).  We get our word for Japan from a bastardization of a Chinese word, but not from a Japanese word.  There are many such examples.  Peruvian is simply the english version of Peruano.  Just like Cuban is the english version of Cubano, or Mexican is the english version of Mexicano.

[angus]

aaaah, do'h.  I hadn't understood that this was the central point of consternation.  well, I don't know.  Why peruvians and not peruans?  Hmmm.  constructed after Bolivian, maybe?  There are other like this.  Why are Cambridge people called cantabridgians and not cambridgians, for example?  I really don't know the etymologies.  I did learn a few days ago from a newspaper editor that folks from Columbus (in all cities in the US named columbus, and there are many) are called Columbians, not columbusites or columbusans.  Houstonian.  Bostonian.  Washingtonian.  Why not Austinian?  No, they're Austinites.  New Yorker, Hamburger, Berliner.  Why not Denverers?  No, they're Denverites.

It's a sick, sad world.

[angus]

It's true Hitler wasn't Christian, even regardless of his perosnal beliefs he sure wasn't in his deeds. But to say the Nazis were enemies of the Catholics is asinine. Almost all Nazi allies were Catholic. What was Germany's biggest ally in Europe? Italy. And the Germans had plenty of Catholic clerical fascist ran puppet states. Look at the Vichy French or Tizo's regime in Slovakia. And perhaps worse of all was the state set up in Yugoslavia called the "Independent Free State of Croatia" or something like that ran by the Ustase party, which's goal was to eliminate all Orthodox Serbs in Yugoslavia, by either forcing them to convert to Catholicism, expelling them, or killing them. Ever heard of Ante Pavelic? And why did Franco's Spain, a clerically fascist Catholic country harbor ex-Nazi officers?

"Dumpkopf!  Mit frrriends like ze Italians, vee don't need enemies"
    --Hitler

"Whatsa matta you?  Ima lova, notta fighta."
    --Mussolini

[angus]

Ha.  Remember that craig kilborne show?  I think it's a guy named Jon Stewart doing it now.  But it used to be funny.  So Kilborne would do "news" stories.  true, but irrelevant, stories with weird commentary.  (wait, don't we already have Brit Hume.  yeah, yeah, I know, anyway...) I remember once, back in about '98, he showed a picture of a guy with in-line roller skates, kneepads, elbowpads, and a helmet.  they guy was dressed in black and had a badge stenciled on his shirt.  The story was that Parisian city government now had cops on rollerblades.  yep, cops on skates.  So Kilborne is going on about, "...Can the French possibly be any more effeminate?  Cops on roller skates?  How cute.  And with those kneepads they'll be ready for a third German invasion."

Riotous, man.  Just spit out loud funny.  I can't help thinking about that image of a french cop with kneepads every time I see the word Vichy.

[angus]

What do you think about teaching Southern English in Northern schools as a foreign language? Do you think that it would be more popular than Spanish, French or German?

They're doing it in Oakland already.  It's called Ebonics.  It was a bad idea in California, and it's probably a bad idea anywhere else.  My wife can barely understand the local blacks, and I don't think the solution is to get all americans speaking that way, but to try to get these folks speaking US standard english properly.


"Y'all need sumpin else?  No?  A'ight, that be fo fitty fo."
"I beg your pardon."
"Fo fitty fo, biyatch, stop frontin' yo."
----"Hey, just give her a five baby, don't worry about it."
"okay, here's five dollars."
"A'ight, here y'all change:  fotee sik cent."


Peace.  out.

[angus]

good heavens!  Please tell me you altered that photo before posting it.